DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.– There have been five different race winners in the 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season: Kyle Busch (two), Todd Bodine (one), Dennis Setzer (one), Ron Hornaday Jr. (one) and Matt Crafton (one). Hornaday took the lead in the point standings following his victory at Kansas and has retained it through the Lowe’s Motor Speedway event.
2008 Season Highlights
• Todd Bodine’s victory at Daytona continued the streak of a different Daytona race winner for the ninth consecutive year.
• Todd Bodine, Kyle Busch and Johnny Benson all finished in the top-three in the first two races of the season.
• Kyle Busch won at California to become the sixth different race winner in as many races at California.
• Kyle Busch won at Atlanta, becoming the first repeat winner in eight races at Atlanta.
• Dennis Setzer won at Martinsville, his third victory at the Virginia short track, making him the all-time win leader there.
• Ron Hornaday Jr. won at Kansas – his 34th series victory. Hornaday has won in 11 of his 12 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series seasons.
• Matt Crafton won at Lowe’s Motor Speedway – his career-first victory.
Qualifying
• 59 different drivers have attempted to qualify for at least one race this season.
• There have been four different pole winners in 2008. Qualifying was canceled at Auto Club Speedway.
• Erik Darnell won the Keystone Light Pole Award at Daytona, posting his first pole at Daytona and just the second of his career.
• Ron Hornaday Jr. (Atlanta and Kansas), Jack Sprague (Martinsville) and Kyle Busch (Lowe’s) are the other pole winners this season.
• Jack Sprague set a new track record of 96.327 mph, in qualifying at Martinsville – eclipsing the mark set by Mike Skinner one year earlier.
• 26 different drivers have posted top-10 starts this season, led by Colin Braun and Ron Hornaday Jr., each with six.
The Races
• 56 different drivers have qualified for at least one race this season.
• Todd Bodine won at Daytona. Not only was it his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory there – it was his first ever at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Bodine was winless in nine NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and 11 NASCAR Nationwide Series Daytona races. He also competed in six Gatorade Duels and four Budweiser Shootouts – bringing his total number of Daytona races to 33 prior to his first victory there.
• Kyle Busch won the second and third races of the 2008 season, the first back-to-back victories since Johnny Benson won at Bristol and Gateway in 2007.
• 26 different drivers have posted top-10 finishes this season – led by Ron Hornaday Jr., with four.
• There were eight lead changes and 34 cars running at the finish at Martinsville – both tying the track records.
• Matt Crafton won at Lowe’s Motor Speedway – his career-first victory in his 178th race. He set the record for the most races before a career-first victory in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Ryan Reffner held the previous mark of 111 races before his first win (1996-2000). Earlier in the season, Crafton finished second at Martinsville and had finished third five times, twice in 2004, twice in 2006 and most recently at Atlanta in March 2007.
The Pole Winner/Race Winner
• The pole winner (or driver that started first in cases of no qualifying) finishing position:
First 1
2nd-5th 2
6th-10th 1
11th-30th 2
31st or beyond 0
• The lap-leader performance of the pole winner (or driver that started first in cases of no qualifying):
Led First Lap 5
Led Any Laps 6
Led Most Laps 3
Won Race 1
• The race winner’s starting positions:
Pole 1
Top -Five 1
6th-10th 1
11th-30th 3
31st or beyond 0
• The lap-leader performance of the race winner:
Led First Lap 2
Led Most Laps 4
Led Mid-Race Lap 2
Led With 10 to Go 5
Led With One to Go 6
Note: Mid-Race lap is as scheduled regardless of shortened or extended race length.
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